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Israel agrees to four-hour pauses in Gaza military operations
The White House said on Thursday that Israel has agreed to pause military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for at least four hours at different times to allow for the evacuation of civilians from the conflict zone.
“We understand that Israel will begin to implement four hour pauses in areas of northern Gaza each day, with an announcement to be made three hours beforehand,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters.
“We’ve been told by the Israelis that there will be no military operations in these areas over the duration of the pause, and that this process is starting today.”
An Israeli official told The Hill that the pause is for humanitarian purposes, “to allow people to move to the south, to get food and medicine.”
President Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to “tactical pauses” to ease the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Strip, even as the president has rejected calls for a general ceasefire.
His officials say that any major pause in fighting is unlikely to be respected by Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization that controls the strip, and they support Israel’s goal to eliminate the terror group.
Still, the administration is coming under pressure to more forcefully push Israel to work towards increasing humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Calls are rising to initiate such pauses to help facilitate the exit of foreign nationals — at least 700 under the purview of the U.S. — and work toward the release of at least 240 hostages who Hamas kidnapped from Israel during its shocking terrorist attack on Oct. 7.
“Israel makes its own decisions. It’s fighting an enemy that is embedded in the civilian population,” Kirby said.
“At the same time, Israel has an obligation to fully comply with international law, and we believe these pauses are a step in the right direction, particularly to help ensure that civilians have an opportunity to reach safer areas away from the act of fighting.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the pauses did not amount to a ceasefire, and showed video of scores of Palestinians carrying white flags trudging down sandy dirt roads against the backdrop of destroyed buildings.
The video was posted around 7:30 a.m. Eastern on Thursday.
Kirby said in the briefing that at least one corridor opened by the IDF had been operational for between four and five hours every day for the past few days.
A second route along a coastal road will allow more people to flee the area of fighting, he said, adding that the U.S. remains concerned that Hamas will discourage or prevent civilians from fleeing.
Kirby said that the Israelis engaging in such pauses could help with potential movement of unaccounted for hostages to a safer place away from the conflict zone.
At the same time, he said that more trucks with humanitarian aid are entering the strip, though fewer than a stated goal of 150 trucks a day.
The IDF posted a second video of trucks bearing the blue logo of the World Health Organization moving in the opposite direction of the fleeing people.
“That’s the goal that we want to strive for,” Kirby said.
—Updated at 11:38 a.m.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
Republicans demand answers after top Biden official invited CCP leaders to sensitive national security site
FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 House Republicans led by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., are pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her agency’s invitation for foreign adversaries to inspect a sensitive U.S. nuclear testing site.
In a letter sent Thursday morning, Stefanik and the other Republicans blasted Granholm for recently offering China and Russia “unprecedented access” to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nevada National Security Site. Bloomberg reported in September that the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration invited Chinese and Russian officials to tour the site to prove the U.S. is upholding a three-decade moratorium against testing nuclear weapons.
“I am leading my colleagues in demanding that President Biden revoke this misguided invitation to our adversaries in Beijing and Moscow that grants them unprecedented access and insight into our nuclear weapons,” Stefanik told Fox News Digital. “Inviting Communist China and Russia to have a front row seat for our sensitive nuclear weapons tests will give them invaluable information on how to defeat our nuclear capabilities and improve their own.”
“At a time when our adversaries are growing their nuclear stockpiles to undermine America’s leadership allowing them access to one of our nuclear test sites will only advance this pursuit and lead to our own destruction,” she continued.
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The National Nuclear Security Administration invited its Chinese and Russian counterparts to tour the Nevada site — where sensitive nuclear experimentation is conducted — during the latest International Atomic Energy Agency summit, according to Bloomberg. Corey Hinderstein, a senior National Nuclear Security Administration official, said China and Russia didn’t immediately respond to the invitation.
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The invitation came months after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his nation’s participation in the only remaining nuclear arms control pact with America. And last week Putin signed a law withdrawing Russia from its ratification of a global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in a move quickly condemned by the State Department and which is evidence of deteriorating relations between the two sides.
Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who was one of the co-signers of Stefanik’s letter to Granholm on Thursday, said allowing foreign adversaries to observe U.S. nuclear testing activities “allows them to derive our methods and procedures and this destroys deterrence.”
“As Chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, one of my priorities has been to strengthen and protect our nuclear arsenal,” he told Fox News Digital. “In the world today, nothing could jeopardize our national security more than losing this advantage. I was stunned to hear recent reports of Biden administration officials inviting citizens from our two greatest adversaries to observe U.S. nuclear weapons tests.”
“Russia and China should not have insider access to our testing. Both countries have had ample opportunity to be more open about their nuclear weapons development and deployments and refuse to do so. The amendment I introduced on this matter will halt the Biden administration’s latest lapse in judgment,” the Colorado lawmaker continued.
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Late last month, Lamborn introduced a bill to block foreign nationals from witnessing U.S. nuclear weapons testing at national labs. The bill was attached to the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which the House passed on Oct. 26.
The letter Thursday also comes as China continues to expand its own nuclear capabilities and armament. Stefanik, Lamborn and the other GOP lawmakers noted the Department of Defense has warned China’s nuclear expansion is exceeding previous U.S. projections.
“The PRC is now projected to have over 1,000 warheads by the end of this decade,” General Anthony Cotton, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, told lawmakers during an Armed Services Committee hearing in March.
In their letter, the Republicans told Granholm that China now has no reason to halt the aggressive expansion of its nuclear development “if they are given this access while offering nothing in return.” They further noted that China has refused to engage in discussions on its nuclear expansion and DOE’s actions threaten to “embolden their efforts to continue growing their arsenal.”
“The notion of granting America’s adversaries’ access to our military sites — and enabling them to gain information about U.S. nuclear capabilities — is deeply alarming and fundamentally absurd,” Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., another letter co-signer, told Fox News Digital.
“I am proud to join my colleagues in demanding the Biden administration explain why they are inviting Russian and Chinese Communist Party officials to access our most sensitive laboratories and testing facilities.”
In addition to Stefanik, Lamborn and Wittman, fellow GOP Reps. Joe Wilson, James Moylan, Bill Posey, Pat Fallon, Chris Smith, Ashley Hinson, Carlos Gimenez, Scott DesJarlais, John Moolenaar, Lance Gooden, Brett Guthrie, Dale Strong, Julia Letlow, Robert Aderholt and Brad Wenstrup also co-signed the letter.
The DOE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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CNN Poll: Majority Say ‘No Chance’ They Would Vote for Joe Biden in 2024
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Biden hails SAG-AFTRA strike deal: ‘Collective bargaining works’
President Biden is commending SAG-AFTRA and the Hollywood movie studios for reaching a tentative deal to end a monthslong strike, contending that “collective bargaining works.”
“I applaud SAG-AFTRA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for working together in good faith towards an agreement that allows our entertainment industry to continue telling the stories of America,” Biden said in a statement issued by the White House on Thursday.
Biden’s praise came a day after a tentative deal was reached to end the four-month strike — the longest in SAG-AFTRA’s history and which paralyzed the entertainment industry. The Hollywood actors’ union agreement included a pay raise for its members, along with protections against artificial intelligence.
“When both sides come to the table to negotiate in earnest they can make businesses stronger and allow workers to secure pay and benefits that help them raise families and retire with dignity,” Biden said.
“Over the last three years, workers have won historic victories that ensure record pay, record benefits, and an economy that grows from the middle out and bottom up,” he added.
“SAG-AFTRA members will have the final say on this contract, but the sacrifices they’ve made will ensure a better future for them, their families, and all workers who deserve a fair share of the value they helped create,” the president said.
Union members must next vote to ratify the three-year contract in the coming weeks.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
GOP candidates back Israel at debate: ‘Eliminate Hamas,’ ‘strike in Iran,’ oppose ‘neocon establishment’
The Republican presidential candidates, during Wednesday night’s debate in Miami, had a unified message for Israel amid its war with Hamas.
“Finish the job,” urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “Eliminate Hamas,” said former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. “Smoke those terrorists,” added entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also defended Israel’s right to self-defense after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. More than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were horrifically killed when Hamas infiltrated the country’s southern border and indiscriminately raped, tortured and murdered those they found there. Some 240 people were taken back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli officials.
Moderator Lester Holt asked each candidate what they would tell Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if they were in the White House now, as the civilian death toll rises while Israel conducts ground operations in Palestinian territory and pummels Gaza with airstrikes.
“I would be telling Bibi, finish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas,” DeSantis replied. “They’re terrorists, they’re massacring innocent people. They would wipe every Jew off the globe if they could. He [Netanyahu] cannot live with that threat right by his country. Hamas should release every hostage, and they should unconditionally surrender.”
Haley, citing her experience at the United Nations, said Iran was the mastermind behind the attacks on America’s ally Israel and U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East. Since Oct. 17, U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria have been attacked 42 times, according to the Pentagon.
“There would be no Hamas without Iran,” she said. “There would be no Hezbollah without Iran. There would not be the Houthis without Iran and there wouldn’t be the Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq that are trying to hit our military men and women if it hadn’t been for Iran.”
ISRAEL PUSHES DEEPER INTO GAZA CITY AS G7 CALLS FOR PAUSE IN FIGHTING: LIVE UPDATES
Haley emphasized that Iran is in an “unholy alliance” with Russia and China and called Israel the “tip of the spear” against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East.
Scott, who tussled with Haley in the previous debate on Fox Business, echoed her concerns about Iran and accused President Biden and the previous Obama administration of “appeasement” in dealings with the regime in Tehran. Scott has been a vocal critic of the $6 billion in unfrozen assets the Biden administration released to Iran as part of a prisoner deal.
“There is blood dripping from the hands of President Obama and President Biden,” Scott charged. He called on Biden to “strike in Iran” to stop further attacks on U.S. forces by Iran-backed proxies.
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Ramaswamy dropped rhetorical bombs on his rivals in his answer. After stating he would go “one step further” than Haley and DeSantis by urging Netanyahu to “smoke those terrorists on his Southern border,” he railed against the “neocon establishment” and called them both “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels.”
It was a jab at Haley, the only woman on the stage, and DeSantis, who has been accused of wearing lifts in his cowboy boots.
Haley fired back saying her heels were actually five inches and “I don’t wear them unless you can run in them.”
Christie, meanwhile, was the only candidate to voice moderate criticism of Israel, pointing out that Israeli intelligence failed to detect and prevent the Oct. 7 attack.
“They failed the people of the state of Israel,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Who Won the Third Republican Debate?
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US, South Korea concerned about North Korea, Russia military cooperation, Blinken says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Thursday that the United States and South Korea are concerned about alleged military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
Blinken met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Foreign Minister Park Jin during his trip to South Korea this week, where the leaders discussed the threat of North Korea — officially called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) — and its alleged cooperation with Russia to provide the country with military equipment to aid in its invasion of Ukraine.
The secretary of State said the two countries share “profound concerns” about the “growing and dangerous military cooperation.”
“With regard to DPRK-Russia cooperation, this is a matter of deep concern for both of us as well as for other countries around the world, and we’re seeing a two-way street,” Blinken told reporters in Seoul during his visit.
South Korea has warned that Russia is likely being supplied with an array of missiles and ammunition from North Korea. The White House has also said North Korea has delivered 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.
The Biden administration has previously condemned North Korea’s move to supply Moscow with military equipment. Concerns that the DPRK and Russia were cooperating arose after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.
Blinken also said the U.S. has seen Russia provide North Korea with support for its military programs. He noted he and Park spoke about how the U.S. and South Korea could “intensify pressure on Moscow not to transfer military technology to the DPRK, in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
“We’re seeing the DPRK provide military equipment to Russia for pursuing its aggression against Ukraine, but we’re also seeing Russia provide technology and support to the DPRK for its own military programs.,” he said.
“And that’s a real concern for the security of the Korean Peninsula, it’s a real concern for global nonproliferation regimes, it’s a real concern for the Russian aggression in Ukraine, and a real concern for its violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Blinken added.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
Trump says opponents in GOP debate ‘not watchable’
Former President Donald Trump blasted his GOP opponents who took to the stage for the third 2024 debate Wednesday as “not watchable.”
“Our nation is in very serious trouble, and it’s time for the Republican establishment to stop wasting time and resources trying to push weak and ineffective RINOs and never-Trumpers that nobody wants and nobody’s going to vote for,” Trump said at a rally in Hialeah, Florida, Wednesday held to compete with the third Republican debate hosted by NBC News in Miami.
“They’re not watchable you know, the last debate was the lowest rated debate in the history of politics. So therefore, do you think we did the right thing by not participating?” Trump said, evoking cheers. “Somebody, said, oh, one of the dumber ones, ‘he doesn’t have the courage to stand up.’ Well, listen, I’m standing in front of tens of thousands of people right now, and it’s on television. That’s a hell of a lot harder to than a debate. That’s a hell of a lot harder.”
Trump, who had also opted out of the first and second GOP debates of the 2024 cycle hosted by Fox News and Fox Business, respectively, told supporters “2024 is our final battle.”
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“This race is not just about beating crooked Joe, it’s about defeating the entire rotten, corrupt and tyrannical establishment,” Trump told the crowd Wednesday night. “This election will decide whether power in America belongs to them forever or whether it belongs to you. The men and women who make this country great, who make this country run. 2024 is our final battle. Stand with me and the fight. We will finish the job that we started so brilliantly seven years ago.”
The former president and current GOP front-runner also took swipes at President Biden’s repeated public falls and stumbles, also said the globe has never been closer to World War III.
“You know, I would say standing up here in this beautiful podium, you know, a podium where these stairs are not obvious enough, Biden could never get off now. But think of it. Here’s a guy who can’t find or figure out a way to get off a stage with about five sets of stairs,” Trump said. “He can’t put two sentences together, and he’s in charge of our nuclear talks.”
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“This is the closest we’ve ever been to World War III,” Trump said. “This is the closest. And I hope that one’s wrong. And that’s not a prediction, because I would never make that prediction. It’s too horrible a thing to say. But we have never been closer to World War III and only for one reason. We have incompetent people talking on our behalf.”
“When you deal with China, President Xi and North Korea, Kim Jong Un and Russia, Putin you deal with all these people,” Trump continued. “The press hates when I say they’re smart. He said they were smart. Well, what am I supposed to say? They’re stupid people? Kim Jong Un leads 1.4 billion people. And there’s no doubt about who the boss is. And they want me to say he’s not an intelligent man. They get very personal when I say that because they’re fake news.”
Trump also talked about leading battleground states in recent polling. Addressing recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations and Antisemitic incidents at major U.S. universities in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, told supporters on Wednesday “you can’t afford to have a president who wants to be politically correct” and vowed he would “quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before college campuses.”
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